The National Board of Justice (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Junta Nacional de Justicia''), formerly the National Council of the Magistrature, is an autonomous

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

institution that is part of the

Republic of Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. Its primary function is to appoint and ratify all

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s and

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

s in the Peruvian justice system as well as to remove those that fail to fulfill their responsibilities.

History

Different systems have been used since independence by the

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian government to designate impartial judges and prosecutors. The 1933 Peruvian Constitution set up a system similar to that of

Article Three of the United States Constitution Article Three of the United States Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the U.S. federal government. Under Article Three, the judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of the United States, as well as lower courts created by Congres ...

which gave the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

the power to appoint judges with the ratification of the Senate.

Juan Velasco Alvarado Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a Peruvian general who served as the President of Peru after a successful coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency in 1968. Under his presidency, nationalism ...

removed most of the judges that served as part of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

shortly after coming to power in 1968. A "National Council of Justice" was set up as an autonomous institution not dependent of any of the branches of government. This was done to solve corruption issues within the

judiciary branch The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

as well as to prevent politics from infiltrating said branch. The function of the Council was similar to that of the modern National Board of Justice.

The National Council of the Magistrature in the 1979 Constitution

The National Council of the Magistrature was codified as part of the 1979 Peruvian Constitution. The function of the Council was that of screening and proposing judges. Supreme Court Justices were proposed to the President by the Council and then in turn to the Senate which ratified the appointments. Lower court judges were chosen by the Council and then ratified by District Magistrate Councils. The 1979 Constitution version of the Council was modeled after the Italian High Council of the Judiciary and was similar to other councils in Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. It was composed of seven members who served three year terms. The Prosecutor General presided over the Council while the other six members were two representatives from the

, one from the National Federation of Bar Associations of Peru, one from the Lima Bar Association, and two representing Peruvian

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

The National Council of the Magistrature in the 1993 Constitution

After the

1992 Peruvian constitutional crisis A self-coup, sometimes known as the ''Fujimorazo'', was performed in Peru in 1992 after President Alberto Fujimori dissolved the Congress as well as the judiciary and assumed full legislative and judicial powers. With the collaboration of the mil ...

and the adoption of the 1993 Peruvian Constitution, the Council gained greater autonomy and responsibility. The 1993 Peruvian Constitution gave the Council the power of appointing and removing all judges and prosecutors. It also required that all appointees were re-elected or removed from office every seven years. The counselors were no longer members of different governmental organizations and civil institutions that served in an advisory roll. They were now full-time counselors that were chosen by a special body of electors for a five-year term.

2018 scandal and Constitutional Referendum

A series of

wiretap Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

s were published by the press starting in July 2018 which recorded counselors speaking with prominent businessmen and judges which showed vast

cronyism Cronyism is the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointin ...

within the system. President

Martín Vizcarra Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020. Vizcarra previously served as Governor of the Department of Moquegua (2011–2014), First Vice Pre ...

convened Congress into a special session concerning the removal of all seven counselors on 20 July 2018. Congress removed all seven Counselors by a unanimous vote. The National Council was declared in emergency for nine months a week later. Most of the Council's personnel was dismissed, the Council's organic law was revoked, and all processes being considered by the Council were put on hold. During his yearly message to Congress, President Vizcarra, called for a new Constitutional amendment which would change the composition of the Council as well as the requirements to become a counselor. He also asked that all appointments and ratification done by the council in recent years be revised. The Constitutional Amendment proposed by the Executive branch brought down the number of counselors from 7 to 5. It also proposed that counselors would be appointed by a special committee made up of the President of the Judicial Branch, the Prosecutor General, the President of the Constitutional Tribunal, the Ombudsman, and the Comptroller General. Further, Counselors would have to be licensed lawyers with at least 30 years of experience and of good reputation. The President asked that the proposed Constitutional changes be ratified by the people via referendum. The final amendment as approved by Congress maintained the number of counselors at 7 as well as the composition of the committee as proposed by the Executive branch. The amendment was ratified by the population as the first of four Constitutional amendments voted for in the

2018 Peruvian constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Peru on 9 December 2018 alongside the second round of gubernatorial elections. The referendum, originally proposed by President Martín Vizcarra, saw three of four proposals accepted. The final proposal of ...

. Also, the amendment changed the name of the Council to the National Board of Justice.

Composition

The board is independent of the rest of the Peruvian government and it is ruled by its own

organic law An organic law is a law, or system of laws, that form the foundation of a government, corporation or any other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law for a sovereign state. By country France Under Article ...

. The members of the board are known as counselors and serve for a five-year term and may not be re-elected to a consecutive term. Counselors must be (1) natural-born citizens; (2) an eligible voter; (3) between the ages of 45 and 75 years old; (4) a lawyer with at least 25 years of practice, teaching experience, or 15 years of legal research; (5) free from court convictions; (6) of recognized academic excellence and good moral character. The board consist of seven members, which are elected by a special committee which is called into session by the

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

six months before the end of the board's term. The members of the special council are the

, who presides the committee; the Chief Justice of the

; the Prosecutor General; the President of

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

; the Comptroller General; a dean elected by the deans of all private universities; and a dean elected by the deans of all public universities.

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

may remove any of the members of the board due to gross misconduct by a

two-thirds vote A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority r ...

Function

The 1993 Peruvian Constitution delineates the board's responsibilities. Its primary function is to appoint and periodically ratify all

s and

s in the Peruvian justice system; as well as to remove those that fail to fulfill their responsibilities. This includes decisions regarding the ascension of judges and prosecutors. In this way, the judiciary branch of the Peruvian government is isolated from political and ideological interference by the other branches of government. It also elects the head of the

National Office of Electoral Processes The National Office of Electoral Processes (''Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales'', ONPE) is the body in charge of organizing elections in Peru. Created in 1993, during the government of Alberto Fujimori, it is headquartered in the Lima Dist ...

and the head of the

National Registry of Identification and Civil Status The National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (''Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil'', RENIEC) is an autonomous constitutional body of the State of Peru. Its role is to maintain the records of births, marriages, divorce ...

which are two of the three institutions in charge of the electoral system and processes. Judge and prosecutor vacancies are filled through a merit-based public concourse which consist of public hearings, written

standardized test A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...

, and applications. Counselors are explicitly prohibited of having communication with the candidates as to prevent favoritism and corruption.

References

{{Reflist Government of Peru